But what about the endorphin rush?
Seriously I feel like a junkie getting high when lifting, esp heavy

I totally know about the rush - I used to get this from running, but haven't noticed it much from lifting. Maybe I need to get to the next level. I used to lift heavier - 6-8 reps to exhaustion, now I am around 8-12 reps. I also work out at home so I don't want to end up trapped under a bar so I don't go quite as hard as I could with a spot!!! lol

Plateauing? Time to go hard for the weekend. I have no social events save an afternoon memorial so I should be on track to eat healthy and avoid all drinking opportunities this weekend. I will plan to save my kick-a**. free meal (something with roughly an entire block of cheese melted on it) until Sunday night to save me from the 'that free meal was so good, let's keep it going's and set me up for a water release for Monday. It's welcome to 'social hibernation month' for me. Need to get these weekends beaten into shape. I can do this!!!

Well, I kicked the weekend's butt! Then I made it half way through Monday morning and realized I am completely 100% dieted out. I could not fathom having another flavourless salad for lunch. So I made the decision to take 2 weeks and refresh myself lol.

I guess you could say I made a decision for a new direction to try overall. I'm thinking 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off as a general rule for pacing. 6 weeks has seemed to really drag, and I have no set goal (ie. must be skinny by x date for x reason) to create any urgency to keep me motivated. I think if I am starting with only 4 weeks in mind it seems more achievable and thus should increase my compliance overall.

This thing keeps evolving on me but I think I am starting to dial it in. If I keep tweaking, eventually it's going to be the perfect storm

So round low weight was 197.6 (7.4 lbs lost), waist was 36", Monday weight (after Sunday free meal) was 200.8 - will have to see where I balance out with water. I will be back on Tuesday March 13 to continue my run to 185lbs!!

I totally know about the rush - I used to get this from running, but haven't noticed it much from lifting. Maybe I need to get to the next level. I used to lift heavier - 6-8 reps to exhaustion, now I am around 8-12 reps. I also work out at home so I don't want to end up trapped under a bar so I don't go quite as hard as I could with a spot!!! lol

Haha, I know the feel, I lift at home as well!
Edit: the 4on-2off setup looks pretty good; it's healthier for your body and should help with adherence

__________________
"I know who I am. And after all these years, there's a victory in that"

the 4on-2off setup looks pretty good; it's healthier for your body and should help with adherence

Thanks! Yes, I am feeling pretty good about it. I gave myself one day to pig out and eat some forbidden (wheat-y) foods, then on to regular maintenance, which right now is mostly the same as RFL but with some fruit, cheese, peanut butter and rice cakes (my wheat-free version of crackers) added in (plus the one junk food I can really get in on - salt and vinegar chips!) I'm a happy girl!

My weight balanced out at about 201lbs throughout the break. my 'last meal' McDonalds trip last night didn't help though and I weighed in today at 203, but I think I will use my average as my starting weight. I am hoping to lose 10 lbs over the next 4 weeks.

I have been feeling really muscle-y lately, and I wonder if my disappointing progress, scale-wise, during the last stage could be due partly to addition of muscle. I know women get like 0.5-1lb a month if we are lucky, but then again, beginners generally get more, and muscle memory contributes too and I used to be pretty strong... Maybe I got 1-2lbs??

Starting Stats:
weight 201 lbs
waist 36.5"
bf %: 37.5 (??)

A note on my @#$%! impedance scale. As I rehydrate after RFL I notice the frickin thing calculates a dramatically different bf% from one day to the next. So after a few rounds of this I have now determined with certainty the scale is not actually doing even anything and is simply calculating things based on age and gender metrics. What a sham!

ugh - got sick over the weekend. Didn't eat RFL for the last 2 days. Weight is 200.8 so basically starting over again! bleuch. Back to everything today, save for a complete lack of any workout energy! Weekend low (sunday) was 198.9. So was losing essentially 1/3 lb per day. super weird, like I had no first week water to lose. Always a mystery. fingers' crossed for something good/motivating to happen on the scale tomorrow

lettuce tacos - a bit of a splurge with the ground beef. got right back to my pre-sickness weight/water level apparently. back on track feels good. This last week has been very incremental, but that's alright with me! Definitely preferable to huge, inexplicable swings